Arsenal are ready to offer West Ham £90MILLION to sign Declan Rice this summer – with the Gunners preparing a £300,000-a-week deal to land the Hammers captain as they look to offload Granit Xhaka and mount another title push
- Rice is Arsenal’s priority and they are ready to break their transfer record for him
- Mail Sport also understands the club will loosen constraints on their wage bill
- Xhaka could be one of the players who makes way for the West Ham midfielder
Arsenal are set to open talks with West Ham over a £90million swoop for Declan Rice as Emirates chiefs prepare to loosen the purse strings ahead of their Champions League return this summer.
In addition to making major funds available to Mikel Arteta to strengthen his squad, Mail Sport understands the club will loosen constraints on their wage bill to ensure the team can attract sufficient talent to maintain their current status as genuine Premier League title contenders.
Arsenal will look to offset their anticipated spend by selling a number of players – with Granit Xhaka among the players in line to depart.
England midfielder Rice is the club’s priority target and Arsenal are willing to break their transfer record – which is currently at £72million for the signing of Nicolas Pepe in 2019 – to sign the West Ham star.
Intriguingly, however, there is a reluctance to match West Ham’s £100million valuation for Rice, though sources have indicated that the Gunners would be willing to offer the midfielder a contract that would see his potential earnings exceed £300,000-per-week.
Arsenal are set to open talks with West Ham over a £90million summer swoop for Declan Rice
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is set to be backed in the summer window to strengthen his squad
Bukayo Saka’s pending new contract, which will be announced soon, will also be worth towards the £300,000-per-week mark.
Indeed, there is an understanding at Arsenal that their wage bill will inflate over the summer as Arteta targets players with more physicality amid concerns his team lacked strength and power during crucial moments of the season. Rice fits the profile of player Arteta wants to add to his squad.
The Gunners have been careful in balancing their wage bill in recent seasons…